2012 Platinum PR Awards: Trade Show/Event PR

Ford, looking to lead the technology conversations—not with GM or Chrysler, but with Google, IBM and Apple—looked to the 2012 International Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas as a launching pad.

A 4,500-square-foot booth was secured, and the H+K team secured face-to-face interviews with media at the booth with executives across the Ford infrastructure. Ten press releases were issued during the two months leading into CES to shape stories and drive awareness, and seven were issued during the actual CES conference to unveil new offerings. A VIP dinner with Ford leadership and 20 top-tier technology and consumer technology reporters and influencers was arranged during CES, and 220+ one-on-one press interviews were planned in advance and scheduled.

The results were staggering—150+ stories in the two months leading into CES, and 300+ original pieces of print and online press coverage were secured during the five days of the event. —BM

Honorable Mentions:

Bell Helicopter – Bell 525 Relentless Product Launch: To launch the Bell 525 Relentless at Heli Expo 2012, Bell executed a two-week social media campaign to drive traffic to a landing page that provided details about an upcoming webcast while pitching industry media, and the two top aircraft publications embargoed details for real-time news impact.
Disney Consumer Products – Cars 2 Revs Up American International Toy Fair: Disney hosted its own event at Pier 60 at Chelsea Piers outside of the trade show, inviting 400 guests—media, Disney fans, licensees and key account retailers–which earned top-tier business press and a 45% increase in press room traffic.
GolinHarris for Nintendo of America – Nintendo PR Drives Mario Kart 7 to a New Dimension: To drive interest in the latest game version of the 20-year-old franchise, life-size versions of two karts were created and shown off at the LA Auto Show, resulting 907 million media impressions, making 7 the fastest selling Mario Kart game of all time.
International Game Technology – IGT Launches Its Ghostbusters Slots at G2E, Slimes the Competition: IGT used the 2012 Global Gaming Expo to propel its new “Ghostbusters Slots” via a media relations strategy that included securing a 30-day first to market exclusive with MGM Resorts Las Vegas placing a 30-foot Stay Puft Marshmallow Man atop the Excalibur Hotel.
MWW - Jimmy Dean Launches No Kid Hungry Initiative at BlogHer ‘11: The launch of Jimmy Dean’s new CSR initiative with No Kid Hungry at BlogHer provided the brand access to 3,000 online female influencers. Brand ambassadors invited attendees to take a pledge via a form hosted on a tablet, and have their photos taken which were than shared on Twitter.
Toy Industry Association - 109th American International Toy Fair: The association implemented a a 45-day press outreach calendar leading up to the 109th American International Toy Fair. The on-site experience feature concierge services specifically for the press.
UN Foundation, 92Y, Mashable – Social Good Summit: To connect social entrepreneurs, digital journalists, technologists and NGO innovators with global leaders, the UN Foundation and Mashable partnered with the 92Y in New York to put on the Social Good Summit during UN Week. Outreach included red carpet photo opportunities, social media updates and a Livestream broadcast.

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